Pony Malta Stands for Pride and Diversity with Rainbow-Infused Social Takeover

Bullying is a problem that affects many teenagers in Colombia and around the world. One of the main reasons is their sexual orientation. A study by the Health Institute of the United States, revealed that there is overwhelming evidence that shows that teenagers who identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual have higher risks of suffering from depression or suicide attempts than straight teens.

In Colombia, 54% of LGBTQIA+ students feel insecure while at school due to how they express their gender, 43% are victims of bullying due to their sexual orientation and 21% did not attend school at least once during the last month out of fear or discomfort, assured by a study by the organisation Colombia Diversa.

Pony Malta is a Colombian brand that has been next to teenagers for more than 60 years, giving them the energy to confront every challenge in their lives. That’s why the brand wanted to speak out about an issue that’s so visible, but that has also long been ignored. Pony Malta and MullenLowe SSP3 decided to infiltrate two of the most popular social networks today, Spotify and Instagram, in order to create PRIDELISTS: a movement to celebrate LGBTQIA+ diversity through music.

PRIDELISTS consists of six different playlists on Spotify, organised not by the genre of the songs, but by the colour of their album covers: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. People can share one song from each playlist on their Instagram story to form the LGBTQIA+ Pride flag in six consecutive stories. That’s how, on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots during Pride Month, thousands of Instagram profiles all over Latin America dressed their stories with the Pride flag.

Yoreli Rincón, captain of the Colombia’s National Women Football Team; Diego Torres, a famous Argentinian songwriter; Andrés Cepeda, one of the most important artists in Colombia; and Morat, a new generation band that has gained popularity among young people, were just some of all the celebrities that joined thousands of social influencers and people all around the continent to show their support of the movement by sharing the Pride flag through PRIDELISTS.

Pony Malta decided not to be the main voice of the movement, launching the campaign to start an organic conversation around the cause and raise awareness of the support teenagers have all over Latin America. The brand wanted to give the spotlight to all of the ambassadors and influencers who were using PRIDELISTS as an opportunity to show their support of teenagers who have fallen victim to bullying and let them know that they’re not alone.

“This is one of the most serious problems that affects teenagers in Colombia, so we wanted to do something that would help raise awareness of this issue. The essence of Pony Malta is to inspire teens to reach the best version of themselves, and bullying is an enemy in this process. PRIDELISTS is the first of many actions and campaigns that the brand will promote in the future, and we’re delighted with the results so far to bring these efforts to life,” explains Juan Alonso Torres, director of NABS ABInBev Colombia.

“We’re so pleased to be involved in this campaign and stand beside teenagers in Colombia, because no one should ever be a victim of bullying, much less because of their gender or sexual orientation. It was such a simple idea, executed on two of the most powerful channels for teenagers, and it was great to see the support flood in from so many influencers and celebrities in the country to show these teenagers that they’re not alone,” adds chief creative officer of MullenLowe SSP3, Carlos Andrés Rodríguez.

PRIDELISTS will still continue on Spotify, available for anyone who wants to show their support to gender diversity through music.

Click here to visit the Spotify playlists.